The evening starts out tense, but a little wine and some small talk loosen everyone’s tongues. Dad still can’t quite look Sy in the eye, but he’s trying.
“Where did you get this recipe from?” Ant asks, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He may be tiny, but he had twohumongoushelpings.
Dad flushes. “You’re going to laugh.”
“But will I laugh while getting a copy of said recipe?” Ant asks, rubbing his belly.
“Okay, fine.” I love that I know what he’s going to say next. “Do you remember TikTok?”
Erik laughs and points at Ant. “He used to make the dorkiest horse videos on that thing. Got, like, fifty views.Total.”
Ant elbows his husband. “Shut up.”
Dad laughs. “That makes me feel like less of a nerd.” He swirls his fork in the leftover pasta sauce. “I…I saved a video from an Italian nonna on my phone and put a backup copy on the cloud.”
“That’s kind of adorable,” Ant says, leaning forward. “Wait. Didn’t you write it down?”
“Yes, but…”
Papa grins. “Tell them why you won’t use the written recipe, Ro.”
Dad glares, then smooths out his napkin. “It doesn’t come out the same when I use the written recipe.”
“And why else?” Papa asks, kissing Dad’s shoulder.
Dad lets out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. Nonna Sofia is very soothing to listen to.”
Ant’s hearty laugh echoes over the rooftop.
“You’ll see,” Dad insists. “I’ll send it to you.”
“Actually, make sure to send a copy to Sy. He’s the cook in our family.”
Dad looks over at Silas, stretches his neck.
“I didn’t realize you cook.”
Silas scrunches his nose. “Ant always acts like I’m some kind of whiz in the kitchen. I’m just really good at following recipes.”
“Maybe send him both the video and the text of the recipe,” I suggest. “Silas likes clear instructions.”
Silas flames red and sends me thecut-itgesture. Papa catches the subtext right away and rolls forward, laughing so hard he nearly knocks over his wineglass.
Dad and Erik look confused, but Ant joins Papa in laughing.
Dad’s the one who goes red next. “Oakley Heath Ashford.”
Silas turns to me. “Your middle name is Heath?”
“Yeah, like my uncle. You know him. He’s married to Roly.”
Silas nods sagely. “Ah yes. The original Bear Killer,” he says, patting my belly.
Realizing what he’s just said, Silas’s eyes go round and he turns to Dad. “I mean that sexually, not literally.”
Dad’s hands go to his face, and his laugh… My dad has a really good laugh. Loud. Boisterous. Something I never thought I’d hear in this context.
Silas looks like he wants to disappear into a hole.
